Translated material
Eurolanders
PACE Special Rapporteur went to the North Caucasus again
The Special Rapporteur of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Dick Marty ( pictured ), went on a tour of the North Caucasus to collect material for a report on the human rights situation in the region. Mr. Marty's route includes Kabardino-Balkaria, Ingushetia, Chechnya and Dagestan. The PACE delegation is accompanied by Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs Leonid Slutsky. Mr. Marti expects to prepare the text of the report by May so that it can be heard at the June session of PACE.Visits of European human rights specialists to the North Caucasus seem to have long ceased to concern the Russian leadership. The most painful visits for official Russian authorities were those made during the “active phase of hostilities” of the second Chechen war, that is, in 1999-2003. However, the successes of “peaceful construction” in the form of a referendum on the new Chechen constitution, elections of the President and Parliament of Chechnya, the restoration of Grozny and the partial withdrawal of federal troops from the republic allowed Moscow to reduce the pressure of European criticism.
And now, when almost a year has passed since the lifting of the counter-terrorism operation in Chechnya, that is, the final onset of peace was formally announced, PACE is again preparing a special report on the human rights situation in the North Caucasus. Moreover, its preparation was entrusted to a person who is known for his investigation into secret CIA prisons outside the United States.
The head of the Russian delegation to PACE, Konstantin Kosachev, hopes that Mr. Marti goes to the North Caucasus not as “a judge or a supervisor, but as a representative of an organization that seeks to provide assistance.” Mr. Kosachev himself is ready to welcome the new PACE report if it does not contain “black-and-white assessments and clichés.”
If Dick Marty had been able to fully control himself during his blitz visit, he would have discovered serious problems in the relationship between Kabardians and Balkars in Nalchik and learned about the months-long criminal trial of young radical Muslims who took part in the attack on the city in October 2005. In Nazran, he would see hundreds of people concerned about the ongoing deterioration of the situation in the republic and the apparent lack of control over the actions of the security forces by the political leadership. In Grozny, which greets any visitors with a shocking glow of restoration, he would find human rights activists demanding an investigation into last year's murder of Natalya Estemirova and several of her colleagues, as well as a series of other similar cases. In Makhachkala, where the president was replaced in February, there are also many stories, the totality of which can force any unbiased observer to question the real level of stability achieved.
Even if traditional North Caucasian hospitality prevents Mr. Marti from holding all his planned meetings, the experience of previous similar trips shows that the densest escort cannot prevent visitors from seeing the obvious. As a rule, the friendly tone during meetings with Caucasian officials is diluted with notes of criticism at the final press conferences in Moscow, and in the final document, remarks about positive developments are literally drowned in the colossal amount of information about the problems. Russian officials can only once again state the malicious intent of individual Western politicians.
It's unlikely that Dick Marty's visit is just another episode. Just a few weeks ago, in February 2010, Chechnya was visited by one of his predecessors as PACE special rapporteur, Lord Frank Judd, who came to Grozny nine times during his worst years - from 1999 to 2003. Mr. Judd left his post in response to general European approval of the new Chechen constitution, the draft of which, according to the special rapporteur, was not read by anyone who allegedly voted for him in the referendum. After this, Russia refused the British politician a visa several times and finally allowed him into Chechnya at the head of a small delegation from the United Kingdom Parliament. Mr. Judd praised the restoration of Grozny and other Chechen achievements, but, as one would expect, did not turn a blind eye to the murder of human rights activists, violations of the rights of local residents and difficulties in the work of non-governmental organizations.
A new series of European visits at various levels may mean that, despite all the intricacies of energy policy, Europe is aware that the situation in the Caucasus is by no means as good as Russian politicians would like to show. However, the visits can also be regarded as a sign of the new Russian administration’s readiness for constructive criticism and cooperation in the humanitarian sphere. Mr. Marty began his visit with a conversation with the Presidential Plenipotentiary Representative in the North Caucasus Federal District, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Alexander Khloponin.
“The President and the Chairman of the Government attach great importance to issues related to the stabilization of the socio-economic situation in the North Caucasus,” Mr. Khloponin told the foreign guest. According to him, Russia is spending enormous resources on resolving these issues. The priority is to restore the economies of Dagestan, Ingushetia and Chechnya, where, as Mr. Khloponin said, 24 billion rubles have been allocated to provide housing for war victims. (apparently, this is the amount of allocations for the repair of destroyed houses for all previous years). Alexander Khloponin said that he pays special attention to the problems of employment, education and “the formation of a new youth environment” - and all these goals are unattainable without addressing security issues and “taking into account respect for human rights.”